My Uncle Oswald

Meet Oswald Hendryks Cornelius. Aside from being thoroughly debauched, strikingly attractive and astonishingly wealthy, Uncle Oswald is the greatest bounder, bon vivant and fornicator of all time.

My Uncle Oswald is a comic novel for adults. Featuring a character Roald had first written about in the short story The Visitor, it introduces its readers to the unnamed narrator's uncle, telling the story of his early career and erotic education through the guise of the uncle's own diary.

My Uncle Oswald became a full-length novel after Playboy magazine - original publishers of The Visitor - asked Roald if he would be willing to contribute another Oswald story for their 25th anniversary edition. The story soon turned into a book and was published in 1979. Roald later described My Uncle Oswald as "the longest and dirtiest story" he had ever written.